EYE told ya about the Fool On The Hill…EYE tell you man he’s livin’ there still….

(Der deer dere dere dere dere deer)

This was a sad night for competitive football in the modern era—because even the Thunder God Thor cast His judgement upon the proceedings:

“Rain this crapfest out— end the tomfoolery!”

And so it was forecast here— this PS3 game would show nothing and reveal little.

Doug Pederson just don’t care about competing for preseason wins. Truth be told, John Harbaugh is not totally into it, either, at least from a W-L standpoint, although the Ravens have “won” something like 16 PS games in a row.

The post-modern concept is about preserving your best players and fire-testing your rookies, marginal veterans and special teams guys. That’s all it is.

But the problem arises when you are charging prime-time bucks for fans to attend these exhibitions. It’s an inferior product. They (the NFL) should pay you (the gullible fan) to attend some of these slobber-knockers. Because before too long, under the current trends, stadium seats will be empty at games like this one.

Thursday night in Philly was a grim gym. The refs didn’t help matters either. Every other play got a flag. Atrocious pace of play…disturbing to some of us old-timers.

At least many of you Trace McSorley (Penn State) fans got a thrill!

The rookie quarterback threw for 203 yards and two touchdowns and also ran for a score, helping the Baltimore Ravens beat the Philadelphia Eagles 26-15 Thursday night for their 16th straight preseason win.

The game was stopped by the NFL with 11:43 remaining in the fourth quarter because of lightning after a short delay. Also because of lack of electricity in the game itself…a real dud.

Carson Wentz again sat out for the Eagles, but several starters saw their first action this summer, and 65-year-old Josh McCown made his debut after ending his brief retirement to play his 18th season.

With Ravens starter Lamar Jackson watching from the sideline and Robert Griffin III still out with a thumb injury, McSorley solidified his roster spot. The sixth-round pick from Penn State has also been practicing on special teams throughout training camp.

McSorley threw TD passes of 28 yards to Michael Floyd and 7 yards to Jaleel Scott. He scored on a run from 4 yards out.

(The teams held joint practices on Monday and Tuesday, giving both starting quarterbacks plenty of reps against the opposing defense in a controlled setting.)

McCown tossed a 20-yard TD pass to J.J. Arcega-Whiteside and a 9-yarder to Alex Ellis in the third quarter.

McCown was signed after the Eagles lost backup Nate Sudfeld and No. 3 quarterback Cody Kessler in the first two games. Kessler returned from a concussion suffered last week and was 3 of 5 for 34 yards.

This was a hideously orchestrated game. There were 24 penalties, including 17 in the first half. The Eagles committed 15.

The only really good news for both teams: no recurring or new injuries. Ravens rookie WR Marquise “Hollywood” Brown was back on the field for the first time since suffering a Lisfranc injury at the end of his junior season with Oklahoma. The Ravens drafted Brown 25th overall. He caught three passes for 17 yards. He did good. For the Eagles: RB Corey Clement and S Rodney McLeod played for the first time since sustaining season-ending knee injuries last season. They did good.

Matchup
1st Downs	13	14
Passing 1st downs	6	9
Rushing 1st downs	4	3
1st downs from penalties	3	2
3rd down efficiency	6-12	4-12
4th down efficiency	0-0	1-2
Total Plays	49	50
Total Yards	243	262
Total Drives	10	10
Yards per Play	5.0	5.2
Passing	203	215
Comp-Att	19-29	20-30
Yards per pass	7.0	6.7
Interceptions thrown	0	0
Sacks-Yards Lost	0-0	2-11
Rushing	40	47
Rushing Attempts	20	18
Yards per rush	2.0	2.6
Red Zone (Made-Att)	2-3	2-2
Penalties	9-88	15-115
Turnovers	0	0
Fumbles lost	0	0
Interceptions thrown	0	0
Defensive / Special Teams TDs	0	0
Possession	22:00	26:17

Game Leaders

Passing Yards

BAL

T. McSorley19-28, 203 YDS, 2 TD

PHI

J. McCown17-24, 192 YDS, 2 TD

Rushing Yards

BAL

D. Turner6 CAR, 24 YDS

PHI

C. Clement7 CAR, 25 YDS

Receiving Yards

BAL

M. Floyd3 REC, 54 YDS, 1 TD

PHI

J. Arcega-Whiteside8 REC, 104 YDS, 1 TD

I guess you could look at it glass-half-ass-full for the Eagles.

As Chris McPherson of PE.com noted, “what’s important is that the vast majority of the starters for the Eagles shook off the rust in what is likely their last game action before the regular-season opener on September 8. Running back Corey Clement and safety Rodney McLeod made their preseason debuts, as their comebacks from last year’s season-ending knee injury took another major step forward.”